How physical security plays a major role in hospitality

Dec 16

Dec 16

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Security

If there’s one thing hotel owners are concerned about, it’s the safety of their guests and employees. Even if your hospitality customer already has a physical security solution in place, chances are they’re in desperate need of a technology upgrade.

Thankfully, there are new physical security technologies available that make it easier than ever to integrate a solution into their network without breaking the bank.

With the latest advances, you can help hospitality customers move from older analog systems to new and improved IP-based, digital-quality solutions that are also more affordable now and easier to manage.

Over the last few years, the usual barriers associated with physical security have been essentially eliminated. For example, digital cameras are cheaper, resolutions are higher and the cost of storing data has dropped significantly. Today, it’s not unheard of for a small or medium-sized hotel to feature a full-color IP-based surveillance system with cloud-hosted backup and dozens of motion-sensitive digital cameras scattered throughout the campus.

For many hospitality customers, the most desirable aspect of an improved physical security system is ease of use. Older analog systems are unreliable and counterintuitive, whereas the newer digital security systems are all fully integrated into your customers’ networks and are designed with simplicity in mind. Most feature video management software and include intuitive dashboards for viewing live and recorded video.

One vendor, Axis, is an industry leader who offers a line of video surveillance solutions that are perfect for the smaller hotel owner, but can easily scale as needed to cover the needs of your clients with larger hotels.

The Axis Companion line includes video management software that allows users to monitor video streams on-site, or remotely if necessary, using their dedicated IP cameras, which are integrated with an 8-channel network video recorder using a built-in PoE (power over Ethernet) switch, allowing up to 2 months of recording capability, and scalable to fit almost any storage or video retention requirements.

If you’re approaching a hotel owner about implementing a physical security solution, here are some important questions to ask before you get started:

Is there a security camera system already in place?

Do you prefer dome or bullet cameras?

Do you need cameras with pan, tilt or zoom capabilities?

What camera resolution is needed? SD, 720, 1080, 5MP, 4k?

Do you need built-in IR LEDs for night vision?

How are you powering this camera? PoE or wall plug?

What weather conditions will this camera need to perform in?

Do you need to record the video, if so for how long do you need to save it?

Do you need remote access to the cameras?

How many of each type of camera do you need?

Cameras aren’t the only component your customers need, of course. They’re also looking for electronic room key solutions that are rewritable and easy to implement, cloud storage options for archiving video footage and alarm systems for the back office and guest rooms.

For assessing your hospitality customers’ access control needs, these questions are helpful to ask:

How many—and what type—of doors are being protected?

Do we need ingress and/or egress protection?

How should the door be opened from the inside (e.g., exit button, motion sensor, crash bar)?

How many users need access?

What type of credentials will be used (e.g., proximity, mag stripe, biometric, PIN)?

Is this a new build or an expansion on an existing build?

Do you need to integrate with any other system?

As always, if you need pre- or post-sales support—such as help completing an on-site physical security assessment to determine the number, type and quality of cameras needed, or even require assistance installing the solution, be sure to contact your Ingram Micro team.

Even if you’ve never played in the security or hospitality space before, we’re here for you. Don’t forget to view our hospitality playbook to discover even more exciting opportunities in this market.

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